Uncharted Skies
by KyraTheHuntress
Summary: Hiccup leaves Berk with Toothless after failing to tame the Monstrous Nightmare. He is haunted by the idea that he has betrayed his people. Mostly, though, he dreams about his father, the look of disappointment on his face after he revealed Toothless to the village. When he comes across a huge dragon nest made of ice and the Dragon Rider, though, his whole life is changed, forever.
1. Uncharted Skies Chapter 1: The Fight

**Chapter 1: The Fight**

**Normal POV**

"I'm ready." He said as the crowd died down. As the gates slowly opened, Hiccup prepared himself for the worst. Then, the metal gates burst open revealing a blazing Monstrous Nightmare covered head to tail in flames. The dragon crawled up the wall and even tried blasting a few of the Vikings around the arena. It made its way up onto the chain ceiling before noticing Hiccup. Hiccup tried to remain calm facing one of the most revered and dangerous dragons he'd ever faced.

"Go on Hiccup, give it to him!" one of the Vikings cheered. Instead, Hiccup dropped his shield and dagger, trying to calm the dragon down. Some of the Vikings began to voice their disapproval at what he was doing, but the boy ignored them.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay," he soothed the dragon; but the beast was still wary of him, and he was forced to take a few steps back. He lifted his helmet at a final attempt to calm it down.

"I'm not one of them." He said as he tossed his helmet aside. The dragon was finally beginning to calm down after he said that, but Stoick interrupted them, saying to stop the fight.

"No!" the urgency in Hiccup's voice gave him a little more time. "I need you all to see this." He cautiously reached his hand out toward the Nightmare. "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

"I said, STOP THE FIGHT!" Stoick angrily objected to his son's message as he hit his hammer against the rail of the arena. The dragon's eyes suddenly narrowed, and snapped at Hiccup's hand, breaking the trance it was in. Hiccup yelped at the sudden attack, and ran from the now angry dragon as it tried to blast him with flames. The dragon began chasing him around the arena, before Astrid yelled his name and used an axe to get into the arena and help him. The dragon blasted at him a second time and Hiccup had just enough time to get a shield to defend him with when the Nightmare crushed the weapon stand.

Astrid then yelled his name again and kicked a hammer to her hand and threw it at the Nightmare, which, fortunately, hit him in the head, giving Hiccup room to maneuver. Unfortunately, it also made the dragon go after her, and she scrambled to get out of the way. Stoick then lifted up the gates and shouted at them to escape through there. Astrid was the first one to reach the Chief, but just when Hiccup was almost there, the Nightmare shot fire at the doorway, causing Hiccup to turn around. The dragon leaped the boy, trapping him under the beast's claws. The Nightmare briefly studied its prey, before a shriek could be heard.

Suddenly, a purple blast echoed around the arena and a black blur shot into it. The arena was already filling with the smoke from the blast. Hiccup tried to pry the Nightmare's claws off of him, thankful for the confusion the thing caused. He quickly took it back when he saw what the thing was: his dragon, Toothless.

They were quickly engrossed into a brief battle. The Nightmare swiveled his neck around, biting and trying to get the jet black dragon off of it. Toothless then pulled the bigger one to the ground, kicking and lashing out with his talons. He managed to get the Nightmare in a headlock, before kicking him away. The dragons roared at each other; Toothless warning the other to stay away from Hiccup, and the Nightmare trying to get its prey back. Toothless looked back at his human, wanting him to get away while he could. Hiccup, however, runs toward the Night Fury and hopped into the saddle as the other Vikings started to jump into the arena.

"Let's get out of here, Toothless," He exclaimed. The duo then started to dodge all the Vikings coming toward them, and shot out of the arena. Hiccup dared a glance back to it, softly muttering the word, "I'm sorry, dad," before fleeing with Toothless to parts unknown.


	2. Uncharted Skies Chapter 2: The Girl

**Chapter 2: The Girl**

**A/N: Big character revelation in this chapter! Hope you're as pumped as I am! Well, probably not, but enjoy it anyway. Also, this chapter is longer than I usually write, but there's a good reason for it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon or anything related to it. I only own this story and any FC's.**

**Hiccup's POV**

We flew over the ocean that surrounded Berk. Normally, I would have been excited and doing more complex maneuvers, but it was different this time. What Toothless needed now was speed, and lots of it. But that's easy for him, since, come on; he's a Night Fury, the fastest dragon in the history of dragons. We didn't have a lot of time to get away.

We finally stopped at sunset on a small island that would be easily overlooked if any ships were to come look for us. Plus, I could see a fog coming in, which would give us some cover for a while. I managed to gather some sticks to make a fire. Toothless decided to show off and he felled a tree for wood. "Always have to be the better one, don't you?" I asked him jokingly. He growled at me in response. I decided it wasn't worth an argument, so I gathered up the logs we'd collected and put them into a messy pile as Toothless lit them up.

"You know, that's not a good formation for a fire; especially if you want it to last the night." I jumped at the sudden voice and turned around to find… a dragon. No, scratch that, a Night Fury. A Night Fury! I thought at first that there was someone behind it, or in the woods surrounding us, before it hit me.

"Did you just….did I just hear you….?" I asked in shock. The dragon narrowed its eyes in annoyance, "No, it was that rock over there; of course it was me!" I stumbled back and promptly fell on my rear.

"Who…what are you?" I asked it. It looked over itself, like just now realizing it was a Night Fury. "Oh, I'm so sorry if I scared you. Although that look on your face was priceless." _So, it has a sense of humor,_ I thought.

Suddenly, it started to shimmer, as if it was underwater and I was looking at it from above the surface. Then it started to change. I don't mean like change colors (although that in itself would've been weird); no, I mean that it started to _change_ into a _human_. "Whoa! What the…" I stammered as it finished. There, standing in the same spot where the Night Fury stood just a minute ago, was a young girl with light red hair. She had fair skin and had strange, purple eyes. She was wearing a simple blue shirt and some kind of cloak that looked to be made of dark scales. She had plain brown pants with layers of colored material and strings of large dragon teeth and claws around her waist and tall dark blue boots wrapped in strips of cloth.

Toothless appeared at my side and growled at the girl threateningly. Then, the girl approached him and began making some growling noises at him. Was it possible…that she was _talking_ to him? It seemed bizarre, even by my standards.

"I know all of this this may seem crazy, but I can explain." She said, trying to get me to calm down.

"Okay, well, start talking." I said in the most commanding voice I could muster at this moment. She then sat down near our fire and began to move the sticks into a cone-formation, _while they were still burning._

"I know you must be freaked out right now, but I'm not going to hurt you or the Night Fury. Just, hear me out." Her words, oddly, kind of calmed me down and I sat near the fire opposite of her.

"His name is Toothless, and he won't attack." I replied, holding a hand to the side to stop Toothless from jumping at the girl. I looked over at him, and he looked like he wanted to rip her head off.

"Well, where do you want me to start?" She asked innocently.

"Just…well, I guess you can tell me who, or what you are."

"My name is Gordanna, but you can call me Danna. What's your name?" She replied.

"Well, my name's Hiccup, and…hey! Don't change the subject! You still haven't told me what you are." My impatience must have started to show, because after I said that, she began to laugh.

"I'm a Shifter." She said between more questions than the statement answered.

"Okay," I replied, getting angry at how she was ducking my questions. "How can you talk to Toothless?"

"I can talk to all dragons because of my powers." She said simply.

"Uh huh." I said, "and what can a Shifter _do_ exactly?" She studied me for a bit, possibly wondering if I, a stranger, was worth the answer. "I can turn into a dragon, specifically a Night Fury, and I can talk to dragons in their language." She answered, plain and simple.

"Is that those growling noises you made earlier?" She nodded. "Okay, so, where do you live, and how did you end up here?" I asked. I could tell that she was getting bored with this many questions, but I wanted, no, _needed_ to know who she was and where she came from.

"I come from the Dragon Nest. I came here to get some herbs, since I'm starting to run low." She said, finally.

"Wait, as in _the_ dragon nest? In a giant volcano?" I asked suddenly, remembering my little adventure with Astrid to the dragons' nest the night before.

"Oh, no; why would I live there? No, I live in a giant ice nest, that's ruled by the King. He looks over us and provides for us. He's very kind to everyone."

I could tell the girl - Danna- was starting to tire, so I decided to quit asking questions and call it a night. I could tell she felt the same way, so I stepped back and Toothless let me curl up in his wings. I yawned as I recalled the day's events. _It sure has been a weird day,_ I thought as I drifted into sleep.


	3. Uncharted Skies Chapter 3: The Nest

**Chapter 3: The Nest**

**A/N: Well, I certainly didn't expect this much views for my story, that's for sure! I can't thank you enough for sticking with me through these first introductory chapters. Don't worry, my other characters will show up shortly.**

**Also, this chapter is when the "big reveal" happens, if you know what I mean. *smirk***

**Without further ado, Enjoy!**

**Danna's POV:**

I awoke with a start, still in my Night Fury form, from a nightmare. There were Vikings, big, strong Vikings, and there I was, defending my home from them. I was shooting plasma and deflecting and dodging, and they still overpowered me. The last thing my mind saw was a big, red-haired Viking, wielding a hammer, swinging it down on my head.

I changed form and rubbed my eyes. By the position of the light, it seemed about morning; about time to get up anyway. The fire died down and was nothing but a pile of ashes, but I went to the beach and scooped up water in a spare claw bone and dumped it on the smoldering pile anyway, just to be sure. The other Night Fury was still asleep with the boy; Hiccup, I think, was curled up under his wings, also asleep. _I could leave now,_ I thought. _They wouldn't know where the Nest is, anyway. You could forget all about this._ Sure, I could forget, but could they? I mean, a girl who could turn into a Night Fury at will was kind of hard to forget. Besides, it wasn't like I had to get back soon anyway. So, I decided to go catch some fish for them. I shifted form and walked around the island, finding a small stream with a few fish swimming through it. I sat at the bank, waited, and then darted my paws out to spear the unfortunate fishes in my claws.

When I returned, the other Night Fury, Toothless, growled, |Where have you been?| but he softened a little bit when he saw the fish I carried. I laid some out near Hiccup, who was still asleep, and Toothless and I swallowed our portion in quick snaps.

|I've been meaning to ask you; I know that he calls you Toothless, but what's your real name?| I growled to him.

|It doesn't matter to you.| He snarled at me, his eyes narrow.

|I know that it doesn't, I'm just curious.| I replied.

|Fine, since you want to know so much. My real name is Noctus.| He huffed.

|Noctus; that's a very fitting name,| I crooned, gesturing toward his jet black scales.

Then, Hiccup yawned and opened his eyes. He started when he saw me, not remembering that he had a slumber party with a Shifter. I then changed back to my human form, and pointed to the fish that lay before him.

"You going to eat that?" He shook his head.

"Sorry," he said, "but I don't eat raw fish." I shrugged.

"Your loss," I said before taking a fish and bit its head off with one snap. He cringed a bit when I did that, and I laughed at his reaction.

"Well, we should probably be heading off." He said, stretching. "We don't have much time before they start looking for us." He gestured to Noctus, who quickly moved for him to get into the saddle that I noticed he wore.

"Who's 'they'?" I asked the pair.

"Oh, uh, no one." Hiccup said quickly, but not quick enough. I raised an eyebrow, demanding an answer.

"Okay, fine. You got us. We're running away."

"From who?" I asked. _Now who's dodging questions?_ I thought, ironically.

"Well, you see, ah, we're uh, not from around here. We're actually, uh, more specifically me, is from Berk and-"

"Berk!?" I shouted at them. Hiccup leaned back, expecting me to be angry. "Well, why didn't you say anything sooner?! I know someone from Berk! In fact, I live with her!" He looked surprised at first, then curious, asking who. "I can do better than tell you; I can show you!" I exclaimed, and then changed form. "Come on, I can take you to where she lives." I said, pawing the air to get them to follow me. They exchanged looks, but then Noctus lifted up into the air.

"Alright, we'll follow you; but if this is a trap, then we won't hesitate to attack." Hiccup warned. I nodded in understanding, and then took off toward the nest.

When we flew close to it, Hiccup exclaimed in wonder, "Wow. You weren't joking when you said you lived in a giant ice nest."

I chuckled at his expression, and then replied, "This is just the outside. Wait until you see what's inside." I smirked knowingly when I said that.

I flew into the break in the rock that served as the entrance the Nest. We flew over and landed in a rock pit that some dragons were resting in, before shifting to my human form. Hiccup was entranced by the new dragons, and they were equally amazed by the strange human.

|Danna, who is he?| one of them asked.

|He is my guest.| I simply replied. |Where is Mom and Nazhiir?| I asked them.

|In the Nest, taking care of the wounded,| they answered.

I thanked them, and then led Hiccup and Noctus through the maze of passages that connected to the main part of the Nest, the oasis. When we climbed up to the entrance to it, Hiccup gasped at the number of dragons that were in there.

"Whoa," he exclaimed in wonder. "I know, right?" I said to him. I began looking around the main level, looking for Mom.

|Who is this?!| I heard Nazhiir roar as I turned around and saw him and Mom standing there, anger in both of their eyes.

"Uh, well, Mom, this is, uh, Hiccup; and uh, Hiccup, meet my mother and her stuck-up lizard of a dragon." As I said that last part, Nazhiir puffed up his chest in defiance. When I said Hiccup's name, Mom dropped her staff on the ground and slowly made her way toward him.

"Uh, hi, Danna's mom." Hiccup said sheepishly as Mom kept walking to him.

When she got close to him, she reached out her hand, as if in a trance, and stroked his cheek, which made him slightly uncomfortable. Noctus was just about ready to pounce on her when she uttered a single word:

"Son?"


	4. Uncharted Skies Chapter 4: The Truth

**Chapter 4: The Truth**

**A/N: Dun, dun, DUUUN! Didn't see that one coming did you? Okay, some of you probably guessed it *squints eyes at Izi Wilson***

**Anyway, I seriously cannot thank you guys enough for all you've done for this story. You guys are what keep me writing. Also, don't be afraid to review this and say what I could do to make this story better.**

**I decided to switch it up a little bit, since the last chapter was kind of a cliff hanger; sort of a "meanwhile on Berk" chapter. This chapter also has a lot of the different personalities of the teens, so please tell me if I'm writing them out of character.**

**Without further ado, Enjoy!**

**Normal POV**

Astrid stepped off the boat, head low. It was the third time they'd come up empty handed since Hiccup left. She found Fishlegs and the twins standing near the dock. Snotlout was leaning against a support beam, clearly bored.

"Did you-" Fishlegs began, before seeing the disappointment in the blonde-haired girl's eyes.

"I don't know what everyone getting so worried about." Snotlout spoke up.

"How could you not be worried?!" Fishlegs questioned, "It's not every day that the son of the Chief runs away on the back of some wild dragon and hasn't been seen since." Of course, everyone knew why Snotlout didn't care. Spitelout, Snotlout's father, was Stoick's brother, so that means that if Hiccup didn't return then Snotlout was next in line for the throne of Berk.

"Wait a minute," Astrid questioned toward Fishlegs, "did you say on the _back_ of a dragon?"

"Yeah," he answered, "I saw the whole thing, plus it's pretty hard for me to forget the fact that he flew away _on a Night Fury_."

"We saw it too," Tuffnut spoke up, "Well, at least the fight. That part was awesome." Astrid rolled her eyes. Of course, they probably wanted to jump into the fight, no matter if its two very dangerous dragons dueling.

"Guys," Astrid spoke to them again, "I sort of need to tell you something; but we can't talk here, so-"

"Wait, what do you mean by 'we can't talk here'?" Fishlegs inquired.

"Exactly that." Astrid answered, along with a hard stare. "Meet me in the woods near Raven's Point. I have something I need the show you."

"You mean the place where Hiccup said he shot the dragon down?" Tuffnut asked, which gained a few snickers from the other teens.

She replied, "Exactly," and began walking toward the main village before hearing, "Uh, I was kidding."

* * *

Late that night, Astrid sneaked out of her house and headed down toward the forest. She met with the other teens near the cove where she found Hiccup, and gestured for them the follow her. She led the way through the rocks that lined the place and jumped down onto the ground.

"So, you wanted us to follow you here…why?" Ruffnut asked her.

She turned toward them and replied, "Because I'm about to tell you something I've never told anyone else." The rest of the teens leaned toward her, suddenly interested. "Remember that day when I was gone for the whole afternoon?" They nodded. She inhaled sharply, suddenly nervous. "Well, I had come here. I wanted to see how Hiccup was getting so good all of a sudden. I found out something about him that day, something about dragons." The teens looked at her dumbfounded.

It was Snotlout who spoke up first. "Why would learn anything about dragons?" He questioned her. "You already know every way to kill them, and that they're big, scaly, fire-breathing monsters."

"That's what I thought, too, before I came here." She answered. "But Hiccup, he showed me a different side to the dragons, one that no one's ever seen before. He showed me that they can be kind, caring, friendly, and playful." She explained. The teens all stared at her, not believing.

"You mean to tell me that everything we know about the dragons is wrong?" Fishlegs asked.

"Well, not wrong exactly, but just, twisted."

"Yeah, and how'd you figure that all out?" Snotlout asked, jokingly. "Wait, let me guess; you flew on the back of a dragon?" That earned some chuckles from the other teens. She nodded and they all straightened.

"Well, more or less. Hiccup took me for a, wild ride, so to say."

"What happened?" Fishlegs asked, interested in her story.

"I rode on the back of his dragon." Astrid said simply, which made Snotlout and the twins laugh.

She gave them death glares, which shut them up, then continued, "He somehow earned the trust of a dragon; and not just any dragon, a Night Fury. He had, well, trained it somehow; he'd even built a saddle for it." The others all looked at her, like she'd just grown an extra arm or something.

"I know it's kind of hard to believe, but trust me. Every word I'm saying is true." To her surprise, no one objected to this.

"I believe you, Astrid." Fishlegs said, and the rest of the teens joined in, except for Snotlout. Astrid looked at him expectantly.

"What?" He asked. "I still think this whole thing is crazy; but, if you say it's true, then I believe you, too." He finally said.

"So, what do we do now?" Asked Ruffnut.

"We're going to go look for Hiccup." Astrid explained to them.

"Uh, how? We can't just sail out on a ship, y'know." Tuffnut objected.

"I know that," Astrid replied, "what I mean is that we're going to find Hiccup, our own way."


	5. Uncharted Skies Chapter 5: The King

**Chapter 5: The King**

**A/N: Thank you sooo much everyone! Already over 600 views; I can't believe that you people like my work so much! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!**

**DaydreamingOnPaper: Thank you! It means so much to me that you guys are reading my work and excited for more. Don't worry; there will be lots of drama and action in the later chapters!**

**Without further ado, Enjoy!**

**Hiccup's POV**

"What?!" I took a step back from this woman who claimed to be my mother. The others also looked surprised. I looked into her green eyes that were identical to mine, and I knew what she said was true. I was her son. She hugged me, tightly.

"It's been so long," she exclaimed. "I can't believe it."

I hugged her back, saying, "I know."

We finally released each other, and I asked, "What, what happened the night you were uh, you know, taken?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. She straightened, suddenly serious. I looked over at Danna shaking her head. Toothless must've known my sudden mood change, and came up to my side, purring.

Nevertheless, my mother answered me, saying: "Berk was a land of kill or be killed, but I believed peace was possible. I did everything I could to protect the dragons. It was a very unpopular opinion. Then, one night, a dragon broke into our home, finding you in the cradle. I rushed to protect you, but was I saw was proof of everything I believed. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature, whose soul reflected my own. Suddenly, your father intervened, throwing an axe at the dragon. It attacked him, but I tried to stop it from hurting him. Then without warning, the dragon grabbed me in its talons and I was lifted into the air. You and your father nearly died that night, all because I couldn't kill a dragon. It broke my heart to stay away, but I believed you'd both be safer if I did."

I stood there, stunned at her words. "How did you survive?" I asked, finally.

"Oh, Cloudjumper never meant to harm me. He must've thought I belonged here: in the home of the great Bewilderbeast; the Alpha species, one of the very new that still exist." She led us all down to the center of the nest, and pointed toward the giant white dragon lying in the middle of it. It was huge, even bigger than the monstrous dragon Astrid and I discovered, I think. "Every nest has its queen, but this is the king of all dragons. With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our Nest; a safe haven for dragons everywhere."

I turned toward Danna, saying, "now I know who you called the King."

She nodded, responding, "He protects us all. We all live under his care and command."

Suddenly, a flock of brightly colored dragons, each about the size of a Terrible Terror, but with a Nadder-like body, ran toward Toothless. He apparently didn't like the new attention, and scared them off.

"All but the babies, of course." Danna continued. "Who listen to no one." She said, laughing as the babies flew and played around the King's face, before being scared off with a huff. The great white dragon then turned toward us, and Valka, Danna, Cloudjumper and even Toothless all bowed before the King. I tried to copy their positions, but I just felt awkward. I stood up, and looked into the eyes of the majestic king. He then blew an ice cold breath straight into my face, which made Danna and Valka laugh.

"Ha, ha," I said sarcastically. Suddenly, a dragon came up to us, and growled at Danna.

She growled something back, and then said: "Some trappers have been spotted near Sunrise Valley."

Valka replied, "Go; and take Hiccup with you. I think he'll be useful in more ways than one." _Useful? Me? All I've ever done is screw things up more,_ I thought as Danna began to run to the place where we came in.

"Come on, slowpoke." She called. I hopped onto Toothless and together we flew through the tunnels and out into the world. What my mom had said in there was true. It _was _like a safe haven; for dragons, for everyone. When I was in there, it felt like another world. It was the cold, sharp wind in my face that brought me back to reality, where there were deadly trappers and monstrous Vikings and powerful dragons. _Where there's my father, hunting me down to take me home so he can watch me suffer,_ I thought, as his disappointed face appears in my mind. I tried to push the thought away, but it kept coming back. I patted Toothless to reassure him nothing was wrong.

"Don't worry, bud." I consoled him. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you; I promise."


	6. Uncharted Skies Chapter 6: The Storm

**Chapter 6: The Storm**

**A/N: Wow, guys, already over 650 views! I can't thank you guys enough for what you've done for me and this story!**

**Sorry this chapter is a little on the long side, but, on the bright side, we get to meet another addition to the gang. As with every story, don't be afraid to review this and tell me what I can do better.**

**Also, this and the next chapter might by the last ones I do before the school week starts (boooo!).**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Danna's POV**

"Uh, Danna?" Hiccup asked behind me. We had been flying for a couple of hours, by the look of it. I sighed.

"No, Hiccup. We're not there yet."

"I wasn't going to ask that. What I was going to ask was: Don't you think we should stop soon? I don't like the look of that storm."

|I don't like it either.| Noctus agreed with his rider.

"No way; we can't stop now, we're almost there." I snapped; a little too sharply than I meant to, because it made Hiccup shrink back against Noctus's jet black body.

Suddenly, a net came up out of nowhere, aimed at me. I dodged it, but Noctus wasn't fast enough, and he was tangled up into the net. I saw him flailing around, trying to get free, and crashing into the middle of one of the trappers' cages. I landed swiftly, not daring to shift to human, since I knew these trappers: the Rogue Tribe, led by Thorstein the Ferocious. I knew their history with my kind all too well. They were responsible for the near extinction of all Shifters, young and old. They wiped us almost out of existence.

I quickly deflected the bolas and weapons coming at me, and ran to help Hiccup and Noctus. I cut the ropes preventing them to move. They quickly snapped to attention at all the trappers coming toward them.

|We need to take out the traps before anything else.| I told Noctus, and he did his best to relay the information to Hiccup. Fortunately, he got the idea, and the duo shot into the air.

I stayed behind and took care of the trappers around the cages that held a few Snafflefangs, Hobblegrunts, and a Timberjack before I heard a high-pitched whistle that signaled Noctus was charging to attack. A purple bolt suddenly shot at the trap that held a Deadly Nadder and it blasted open. All of the dragons flew out of the traps as soon as they were opened, except for the Timberjack.

|What are you doing?| I asked it. |Now's your chance to escape.|

Suddenly it opened its wings, which were in a tent shape, revealing a little girl inside, asleep.

|I don't want to wake her,| the dragon said. I sighed, and lifted the girl up in my talons, careful not to hurt her. The Timberjack then took off out of the cage. Me, Hiccup, Noctus and all the other dragons were taking off when the girl woke up.

|Where am I?| She asked, afraid. I was taken aback; a human that could speak to dragons?

|Don't worry, you're safe with us| I answered, trying to calm her down.

|I want to see Korrvick,| she requested.

The Timberjack then spoke to her, saying, |I'm right here, Sonya. Don't worry; we're safe now.| He then flew under me, and I set the girl onto his back. |See?| Korrvick reassured her. |They won't harm us.| we flew in silence after that.

When we returned to the Nest, I tried to take her to see Mom in the main part, but she refused to go anywhere without Korrvick. I finally got her to the oasis when Korrvick promised her that he'd meet up with her soon.

"Well, now who else are you going to bring in here?" Mom asked when she met Sonya, "the Chieftess of the Bog-Burglars?"

"Trust me, this is the last person who will know, I promise. She could be useful, too." She raised her eyebrow, demanding an explanation.

"Well, for one thing, she can talk to dragons. I mean not like you and Hiccup do, but _talk_ to them, in _their_ language." She nodded, slowly.

"Alright, but this is the last person you bring in here. I mean it, Gordanna. The. Last. Person. You and Hiccup can go and do patrols around Wayward Island and make sure that the trappers don't make it back to the Unnamed Island." I nodded, shifted, and went to find Hiccup.

"Hey." I said as he was drawing on a sheet of parchment. He shouted, but relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Don't do that again. You almost gave me a heart attack." He breathed.

I chuckled, saying "Mom wants us to patrol the area around the Wayward Island to make sure the trappers are gone." He sighed, and then jumped on Noctus.

* * *

We were finishing up rounds against the island's beach when the storm hit us. It came out of nowhere. The rain hit us hard, soaking my scales and Hiccup's clothing. The wind came at us equally as hard, threatening to knock us out of the sky.

"We can't make it back to the Nest in this storm." I said worry in my voice.

"Don't worry, we can take shelter down there," Hiccup replied, pointing down toward the island.

"Are you crazy?! There could be trappers down there!" I shouted at him. _How could he be so stupid? This was Rogue territory_, I thought, but it wasn't like I had a choice. I landed cautiously, jumping at every sound.

"Relax," Hiccup assured me as we took shelter under a rock outcropping. "There's no one around."

"Easy for you to say; you don't know the Rogue Tribe like Mom and I do." I said, solemnly.

"Danna, there's something you're not telling me; something that has to do with the trappers we faced earlier today." I sighed; no use trying to get out of this.

"Their Tribe nearly wiped out my people." I said to him. "Whoever they didn't kill was captured and tortured. They are a cruel Tribe, willing to kill off an entire culture because of fear. They feared us, feared what we could do. I may be the last Shifter alive today." I said. To my surprise, Hiccup went up to me and put his arm around me.

"I have to be honest. I can't tell you I know what you're going through, because I can't. The important thing, Danna, is that you never forget who you are." His words were interrupted by a crash near the shore. We ran from our cover to check it out; to my horror, there was a small fishing ship crashed onto a rock near the shore.

I didn't think as I swiftly dove into the water, swimming out to see if there was anyone in there. As I got to the boat, I was shocked to find a boy -about my age, with sandy blonde hair, wearing worn-out rags- passed out on the deck; it looked like he had hit his head on the side of the boat. I slung him over my shoulder and started paddling toward the beach. However, fate was not on my side as the waves crashed all around us. Unfortunately, one crashed over my head and we went under. I tried to swim upward, but the weight of the boy I saved kept dragging us down. I knew we weren't going to make it, when a splash was heard off to the left of me, I think. I closed my eyes as I was lifted up with the boy. The last thing I remember was getting dragged onto the sand, the boy beside me, when everything went dark.


	7. Uncharted Skies Chapter 7: The Plan

**Chapter 7: The Plan**

**A/N: Hello again! Wow, I honestly didn't expect this much views on my story. Over 700 views! Guys you really are too kind.**

**So, how about that cliffhanger, eh? I know, I'm absolutely despicable. Don't worry, though. I plan to introduce who the boy is in the next chapter. Also, sorry in advance if I don't update during the week; it's STAAR test time, ugh.**

**Without further ado, Enjoy!**

**Normal POV**

Everyone looked at Astrid, dumbfounded. Did she say what they thought she said?

"Meet me at the Training Arena tomorrow afternoon." She said, simply. Four pairs of eyes were still on her when she walked out of the cove.

"I can't believe we're going to go look for Hiccup by ourselves." Fishlegs was obviously not excited about the idea. Snotlout clearly wasn't either.

"If I wanted to go out looking for that runt, I would've already been gone." On the contrary, the twins were more than happy to go on a danger-filled adventure.

"I wonder what Astrid wants us at the Training Arena for," wondered Tuffnut.

"I bet she's gonna give us an extra hard training session tomorrow," answered Ruffnut.

"Yeah, and maybe she'll let all the dragons out of their cages, and we'll have to fight them all at once!"

The twins kept going over ideas, each one getting more and more ridiculous and dangerous until Fishlegs intervened, "What if Stoick finds out about this?" He asked nervously.

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow." Snotlout finished, stretching.

"I don't know about you, but this beautiful boy needs his beauty rest. I'll see all of you losers tomorrow." With that, he also left the cove, followed by the others after a minute.

* * *

The next day, they all met Astrid at the Training Arena. Since Hiccup's disappearance, they've been the first Vikings in the arena.

"Okay, Astrid; you have us all here. Now, what are you planning?" Snotlout questioned.

"This," she answered, and then proceeded to open the dragon cage holding the Deadly Nadder.

"Awesome, I was right!" Tuffnut exclaimed happily. Then, though, something weird happened. Astrid held out her empty hands toward the Nadder, which it sniffed curiously.

"Astrid, what are you doing?" Fishlegs asked, scared. "What if something happens to you?"

Astrid ignored them and continued to hold out her hand toward the dragon. She tried her best to show no fear to it, and then started to talk to the beast.

"Hey, hey; it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." She said to it, remembering what Hiccup said in the arena to the Monstrous Nightmare. The dragon walked toward her, curious, then Astrid stretched her hand out until in nearly touched the Nadder's head. _I'm not scared, I'm not scared,_ she thought as the dragon gently touched its head to her hand. She released the breath she didn't know she was holding and then turned to her fellow classmates, who had matching expressions of wonder and amazement.

"This is the plan. We tame these dragons, and ride them out to find Hiccup," she explained to the others. She then walked to the side of the Nadder, touching its side along the way, as not to frighten it into attacking her. Then she did something no one had ever expected: she jumped onto the dragon's back. The Nadder, clearly not used to having a rider, turned and tried to buck the girl off, but Astrid held fast. When the dragon got used to having her on its back, Astrid slid down.

"Are you crazy? You could've been killed!" Fishlegs stated.

"Actually, I would've been fine. A Nadder's neck is too short to fully turn around, so even if it did try to attack me, I would've been too far for it to reach. You of all people should know that, Fishlegs." She retorted, which shut to overweight Viking up. She then went over to the other cages and let the other dragons out, which earned cries of protest from the other teens.

The first one she let out was the Gronkle. She then gestured Fishlegs over, which the teen did, eventually. She walked him through the trust process, and then walked over to the Hideous Zippleback cage. Astrid led the twins over to the two-headed dragon and each one bonded with one of the heads. Finally, she let the Monstrous Nightmare, now docile, toward Snotlout. He was actually frightened to be this close to the dragon and not getting fire breathed at him, but Astrid ignored his complaints and he bonded with the Nightmare. She then went over to the box of weapons and got some rope from it, saying, "We can't ride them bareback, they'll knock us off within a minute. So," she threw some of the rope to each of the teens, and continued, "tie yourself in, and tightly." She then went over to the Nadder, and tied herself onto its back and went to the doors to the arena.

"Come on. The more time we waste here is the less time we have to find Hiccup." The others then followed her out of the arena.

It must've looked strange to the burly Viking missing his left hand and right leg to see the dragons that were supposed to be locked up, flying out to sea. What must've looked even stranger was that they looked to be carrying _people_ on their backs.


	8. Uncharted Skies Chapter 8: The Rogue

**Chapter 8: The Rogue**

**A/N: Wow. Just wow. I can't believe you guys are that hooked on my story. If you've made it this far, congratulations! *hands you a medal of achievement***

**Anyway, thank you so much for sticking around enough for the **_**real**_** story to begin. This is going to be fun; for me at least! *sly grin***

**Without further ado, Enjoy!**

**Hiccup's POV:**

As Toothless and I began pulling Danna and the boy she rescued out of the ocean, I felt Danna go limp under my arms. _Oh gods, am I too late?_ I thought as I frantically tried to save her by pumping the water out of her lungs. She suddenly coughed and spit up water.

I was so relieved when she awoke, that I completely forgot about the boy until she said, "Go save him," and pointed, weakly to him. I stumbled along the sand to the boy and started pumping his chest, trying to get the water out. I jerked back a little when he started coughing, and then trying to sit up, then falling on his back again. I looked at his face as he said, "Where am I? Who are you?"

"My name is Hiccup," I said to the boy "and you're on Wayward Island. Who are you?"

"My name's Erik." He replied, then turned over to see Danna lying with her back to him, barely breathing.

"Danna!" He said as he rushed over to help her. I was surprised at this. She stirred lightly, opening her eyes and looking up at him. To my shock, she moved away from him and changed into her Night Fury form faster than I knew she could move.

"Keep away from me!" She growled at Erik.

These two obviously had a history, and it wasn't pretty.

"Hey, just, calm down, Danna. I don't want to hurt you." He held up his hands to try to get her to drop her guard.

"Don't touch me! What are you doing here?" She growled threateningly. Erik sighed and dropped his arms by his side.

"Fine, you caught me. I admit that I've been following you for some time. I was actually planning to talk to you on this island. It was just dumb luck that my ship crashed where it did."

"Oh, you better pray that your so-call dumb luck protects you from THIS!"

With that last word, she leaped at him, changing form mid-air. Erik side-stepped her attempt to overpower him.

"I'm not going to fight you, Danna," he said, his eyes soft. Danna turned toward him, her eyes burning with rage.

Before I knew what I had done, I threw myself in front of the raging Night Fury.

"Danna, stop." I pleaded, holding my hands out to stop her. I then turned to Erik, "If you say you've changed, then I believe you; but it's not me that you need to convince." I gestured toward Danna. He nodded and then walked calmly to her.

"Look, I know I've done some awful things to you and your mother, and I'm sorry. All I ask is that you give me a chance. Please, Danna." He pleaded, as he stopped in front of her and got on his knees, completely at her mercy.

"How should I trust you? All you've ever done is try to capture me and Mom." She countered.

"I know, but you don't know what I've been through at our island: my dad's been capturing dragons to turn into slaves. He has them in chains and muzzles around their mouths. It's cruel and I tried to reason with him, but he won't listen to me. That's why I want to join you. I want to put an end to this, all of it. All I'm asking you is if I can help you and put my father in his place." Danna was noticeably surprised at his words. She looked over at me, expecting an answer from me.

"Hey, I don't know him as well as you do, but I say we give him a chance. Who knows, he might prove to be useful." She nodded solemnly at my words, and then turned to the boy at her feet.

She said, "Alright, I'll give you a chance." She then bared her teeth at him and continued, "But if you make one wrong move, one step backward, or lead us into a trap, you'll be one of the first, and last, people to experience the wrath of a Night Fury Shifter." She threatened.

I nodded at the two, then jumped on Toothless's saddle and motioned for them to come back to the Nest. Danna grudgingly let Erik onto her back, visually annoyed at her enemy riding on her back, and took off quickly, as Erik struggled to gain his bearings, followed by Toothless and I.

I suddenly had the very important thought of, what are we going to say to Valka? By what Danna had said, Erik had also met their mother before. I thought about this as we flew back to the Nest, dreading the moment where we had to face our mother.


	9. Uncharted Skies Chapter 9: The Attack

**Chapter 9: The Attack**

**A/N: Wow guys. I really did not expect this much response to my story. I mean: 1,193 views, 14 followers, and 12 favorites! And we're not even halfway through (I think, I didn't really plan this out well)!**

**I was going to wait and update this chapter tomorrow, but I decided to post it today since I passed 1,000 views on this story. Did I mention that this story got over 1,000 views? ^_^**

**Also, I kind of based my character Erik after a certain character I like in Avatar: The Last Airbender and these two chapters after one of my favorite episodes (behind The Ember Island Players). Can you guess which character and episode?**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Danna's POV**

I could not believe what was happening. First of all, one of my worst enemies was now riding on my back. Second of all, I was taking him to the Nest. The same Nest where my mother is right now. I could not believe this. I could hear Hiccup and Noctus flying behind us. I leveled out beside Noctus as we flew the way back in silence.

When we got back, I met my mother waiting for us by the entrance into the oasis. She already had a look of frustration on her face, which quickly turned to anger when she saw who I was carrying on my back. As I landed, I changed to human to confront Mom.

"Mom, before you say anything, just know," I began, "it was all Hiccup's idea." I quickly pointed to the boy in question as he explained what happened, starting with the storm, to me saving Erik from the shipwreck, and finally ending with us taking him with us to the Nest. Her gaze softened a little when she heard Erik's side of the story.

Finally, she said to Erik, "Well, I still don't trust you yet, but by what Hiccup told me and your story, I'll give you a chance." That put a grateful smile on Erik's face, which I didn't think was possible.

"But, if you do anything remotely hurtful to our family, I'll be sure to make your life miserable." She warned to him. He nodded, and promised not to hurt us, and then I was privileged to show him where he would stay.

"You know, you're a lot like your mother." He remarked, trying to make conversation. I shot him a withering glare saying that I wasn't in the mood, and we walked in awkward silence after that. Well, awkward for him. I was glad for the silence. It gave me some time to recollect what had happened today. _It sure has been a weird day,_ I thought has we arrived to our destination. I gestured to where he would stay, and lo and behold, it was next to my place. _Fate sure has a sense of humor today_, I thought.

Suddenly there was a boom from outside, and then a crash, like ice breaking. Ice breaking…

"Oh, no." I exclaimed as I dashed outside, changing while I ran. Erik followed me, to my annoyance, then Mom and finally Hiccup and Noctus came to my side. There were Rogues everywhere, and they were armed with catapults and dragon traps. We suddenly snapped to attention.

"Take out the catapults first." Mom instructed me and Hiccup, then turned to Erik and said, "You and I will help free the dragons. Let's see if you'll be as helpful as Hiccup seems to believe."

We then rushed into battle. Noctus and I shot into the sky to shoot down the catapults. We shot bolt after bolt, but it didn't seem to do any good. I suddenly had an idea.

"Start shooting at the ships," I said to both Hiccup and Noctus, "The fewer Rogues we have on the beach, the better." They both nodded, and changed course to the beach. I kept firing at the catapults, and pretty soon I had taken care of the last of them. Hiccup flew up near me and suggested that we help Mom and Erik.

I barely had time to react. I heard a: "Danna! Watch out!" from somewhere on the beach, before I was blindsided by a bolas on my right. I crashed onto the cool sand when before me was the Rogue Commander, who had a smirk on his face, which I answered with a snarl. Then, he was suddenly pushed back by an unknown person that rushed up to protect me. At first I thought it was Hiccup, or maybe my mother, before I saw his face.

It was Erik. He turned toward me and asked, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, and then struggled as he cut off my ropes with a sword he wrenched from a soldier. I stood up, and was shocked to see what the Rogues had up their sleeve. Suddenly the sky was filled with dragons of all different colors and species. Some were armored, while others, ours, rushed in unguarded.

I was even more shocked, no pun intended, to see a Skrill on the lead ship, which had too many men on it for Hiccup and Noctus to shoot down.

Erik also looked surprised to see it, too, although he said, "Stormfast?" when he saw the electric dragon. I didn't have time to wonder what he meant before it shot a bolt of lightning at us. I instinctively shot a plasma bolt at the bolt, which then exploded in a purple blast. Erik and I exchanged glances, before he jumped on my back without warning, but I didn't have time to argue. We rushed into the air to join the battle, before the Skrill fired another bolt at us. I barrel rolled, which threw Erik off for a second, then climbed higher into the sky.

"Hold on," I whispered as I dove toward the lead ship. I could see that the Skrill had some kind of harness that a Rogue was holding, somehow able to control where and who the Skrill shot at. I landed on the ship, quickly dumped the remaining soldiers onto the beach, as Erik hopped off of me and punched the Rogue off the ship. He then started trying to calm the Skrill down. Apparently, Erik had earned the Skrill's trust, as he then jumped onto its back.

He looked at me and said, "I'll explain later." The duo then shot up into the air and joined to air battle. I followed them before getting into a battle with a Thunderclaw. I scratched and kicked, trying to get the other dragon to back down, although his armor made it a little harder. Finally, though, a swift kick to the stomach was the final straw, and he flew away, hurt badly. The Rogues then saw that they were outnumbered, and ordered a retreat.

I met back up with Hiccup and Mom while Erik flew in on his Skrill.

"Where did you find him?" My mother asked, curious.

"He was actually the dragon I was going to escape on," Erik explained, "But he was captured while I was away, and I haven't seen him since. I guess you went on a little adventure without me, huh?" He asked it playfully, rubbing the top of its head. "His name is Stormfast, named for his speed, obviously."

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you." I said to Mom, motioning for her to follow me.

"What's on your mind now, Danna?" She asked.

"Well, remember when I was shot down by that Rogue?" She nodded. "Well, when I was laying there in front of the Commander, it was Erik who saved me. He cut me loose and we took the lead ship and the Skrill together."

She listened carefully before replying, "I know. I saw everything. I actually wanted him to prove himself to us, and he clearly did. Come on, let's go and talk to him." We walked back to the group, and I couldn't resist hugging Erik for saving my life.

"I'm sorry," I admitted, "for everything."

"I am too." He simply said; and, for maybe for the first time in weeks, I felt safe. Safe in the Nest, safe with my mom and Hiccup, and strangely, safe in Erik's comforting arms.


	10. Chapter 10: The Discovery

**Chapter 10: The Discovery**

**A/N: I seriously just cannot thank you guys enough for supporting this story. You all are what keep this story going, you know that? You all should feel proud of yourselves.**

**Also, a big shoutout to Da0Boss0x for pointing out that mistake with the first two chapters; I'm still pretty new here, and I haven't exactly worked out all the publishing details yet.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Normal POV**

"Uh, Astrid?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "I think we should start heading back. It's getting pretty dark out here, and we haven't found anything." Astrid sighed. Of course they haven't been successful. If a big Viking ship couldn't find any trace of him, then what chance did a few teenagers have, even if they were riding dragons?

The Viking girl sighed in defeat. "Alright everyone, let's turn back. We can't stay here much longer before someone will get suspicious." She turned her Nadder around to head back to Berk. They others followed suite, and soon they were on their way.

The storm hit them like a war hammer. One minute it was sunny with a few scattered clouds, the next the teens were battered with rain and strong winds. Suddenly, a particularly strong gale ripped Astrid from her place on her Nadder's back. The others tried to help, but Snotlout's Nightmare wouldn't listen to him, and the twin's Zippleback got confused on which way it was supposed to go, and nearly crashed into a sea stack. Fishlegs and his Gronkle just weren't fast enough to catch her, before the Nadder folded its wing and dove toward its partner and flew under Astrid and caught her on its back.

"You, you saved me," Astrid remarked. "Thank you," she said to the dragon that had just flown through the storm to save her. "Flying…storm, no, Stormfly. That's your name…Stormfly." The dragon chirped, as if in response, as they headed back to their home.

When they sneaked back into the Arena, Gobber was waiting for them in the center of the ring.

"So, this is what I saw flying out of the Arena earlier." The burly Viking remarked.

"Gobber! We, uh, it's not what it looks like, I promise." Fishlegs was _not_ good under pressure. Astrid dismounted Stormfly and walked up to Gobber, who was expecting an explanation.

"Well, Gobber, we kind of, well; I found Hiccup one day in a cove in the forest one day and discovered he trained a dragon and at first I was going to tell the village but they took me on a ride over Berk and changed my mind about dragons and then he left and I had an idea to train the dragons here so we all can go look for Hiccup but we didn't find anything and then a storm came and I was knocked off and then my Deadly Nadder saved me and I named her Stormfly afterwards and then we sneaked back here." She talked very fast. "So, there you have it." Astrid explained.

She cringed, expecting him to yell or be mad at her. Instead he just laughed. "So, that's where Hiccup disappeared to everyday; and how you managed to ride the beasts." He reckoned. Astrid nervously laughed with him, as Gobber continued.

"Well, I have something to share with all of you. I kind of have been training dragons of my own. Well, I wouldn't really call it training, more like tolerating. A few Terrors showed up at the forge one day, and since Hiccup ran away, I let them help me sometimes making and repairing weapons. They're really not too much trouble if you feed them some mutton every once in a while. There's one I named Sniffer who's a really good tracker. I send him out to return weapons to their owners when I repair them. I bet he'll be good for tracking Hiccup and where he escaped to. Come on, I'll show him to you." He led the teens up toward his blacksmith shop, which had a bunch of Terrible Terrors in the back at the moment. He began yelling to get them to move, which they did, and then asked where Sniffer went. The Terrors pointed to the back room where Hiccup usually made plans, and Gobber went to get the little dragon.

When he returned, he was holding a purple little Terror in his arms, which surprised the teens to see Gobber being so careful with the dragon.

"Now, does anyone have anything that had Hiccup's scent on it?" Gobber asked them. Astrid then held up the helmet that Hiccup had worn in the Arena when he faced the Monstrous Nightmare. Snotlout began to question where Astrid had gotten that, but she shot him a glare that said plenty to the black-haired Viking. She held it up to the Terror, who sniffed it, then started flying out to sea.

The teens all hurried back to the Arena, where their dragons were waiting, then flew up to catch up with the purple dragon that was maybe their only shot at getting a lead on where Hiccup was.

Gobber decided to stay behind and covered for them, saying that he had sent them into the forests to get him some more supplies before the storm came in. As Astrid was following the Terror, she couldn't help but feeling glad that they finally had someone who could lead them to Hiccup. A small smile crossed her face at the thought of finally bringing Hiccup home to his father, to his Tribe; but mostly, back to her.


	11. Chapter 11: The Confession

**Chapter 11: The Confession**

**A/N: Wow guys, over 2,000 views. Just, wow. Thank you guys so much it really means a lot to me.**

**Also, just to clarify, Hiccup and Danna will not be a couple; why? You'll find out in this chapter. Also, Hiccup is Danna's big brother. It just wouldn't work out…yeah, moving on.**

**We'll also see a new POV introduced in this chapter, just to spice things up a little bit.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Erik's POV**

I walked up to Danna and she was finishing a lesson with Sonya in their "schoolroom." She had been giving Norse lessons to Sonya since about a month ago, because the younger girl needed to be able to communicate with us without Danna having to act as translator. I suddenly found my palms sweaty and my heart beating as Danna came up to me, instructing the Timberjack to keep Sonya from slacking off.

"Hey, Danna; do you have a minute? I want to talk with you." We had been growing ever closer ever since the attack on the Nest a few months ago. She nodded, and led me down to a smooth outcropping and sat down.

"Sure, what is it?" I was suddenly worried that I haven't thought this out very well.

"Well, I, uh…what I wanted to tell you is, uh…" I trailed off. I knew exactly what I wanted to tell her, I just couldn't find the words. I could feel my face growing red as I looked into her eyes. Those beautiful…purple eyes…. I opened my mouth to try again, but Valka's voice interrupted me. I was both relieved and annoyed at her at the same time.

"Danna! Hiccup's back and he has injured dragons! Meet me in the infirmary!" She instructed. Danna stood up, and said, "I'm sorry, can it wait?" She turned around to leave, and then turned her head to the side. "Hey, do you want to come with me on the next patrol?" She invited

"Uh, yeah. That's just what I wanted to ask you." She smiled, and left to help her mother. I was left on the ledge when Stormfast walked up to me.

I rubbed his head, asking, "Why is this so hard? Why can't I just go out and say what's on my mind like she does?" He growled in response, clearly bored. "You're right. I just need to be honest with her."

I then went and looked for Hiccup and asked, "Hey, do you have a minute?" He nodded, and then set his Night Fury to the room that they share.

"I need a saddle for Stormfast. I know you have some blacksmith practice, and you've made a saddle already for Toothless, so I figured you could help me out."

"Sure thing, Erik. I just need some measurements and supplies, first."

"I already thought about that. I went ahead and gathered up all the leather I could find and smelted some metal, too." I led him to my room, which was by then filled with all the metal and leather I had collected.

Hiccup's eyes widened in surprise, and then replied, "I'm sure this should be enough for his saddle. Now, I just need some measurements." He pulled a piece of rope with black rings at regular intervals from his utility belt, which he fastened after a few raids left him scrambling to get everything he needed in time. He began stretching the rope around Stormfast's neck, where I usually sat, the length, and width of where the saddle was going to be placed.

Finally, he said, "I think this is enough for what I need. It'll take a few days before its ready." I thanked Hiccup, and then exited with Stormfast to wait for that patrol with Danna.

I know it was just patrol, but I was growing more nervous with every passing minute until we left that even Stormfast, who usually couldn't care less about my moods, started crooning, worried about me.

Finally, it was time to leave. Danna was already at the break in the ice that served as the exit, in Night Fury form. I inhaled deeply, and then mounted Stormfast and we flew through.

The patrol was very anticlimactic, until we came back to Faraway Island. Danna spotted the Rogues before I did, but not fast enough. Stormfast and I were suddenly caught in a dragon net, thrown by one of the men on board a longboat. I struggled to cut us free with my knife I had when we crashed onto the beach. Danna blasted at the men on board, before landing in front of me. She roared menacingly, daring anyone brave or stupid enough to get nearer. I finally cut Stormfast free, who then drew lightning and shot it at the Rogues on our side. We shot up into the sky and flew back to the Nest.

"Well," I said, trying to break the silence. "I guess we're even now." Danna smiled- well, as much as a Night Fury could smile, anyway- and replied, "Yeah, I guess we are." She turned back to the Nest, and, maybe I was imagining it, but I thought I saw the scales on her face turn a shade of red.

When we returned, Danna informed her mother what had happened, as I retreated to my room as I recalled the day's events. I felt a presence as I looked up, and then flushed as I saw Danna standing in the doorway.

"Hey, you don't have to say anything." She said as she walked up and sat down next to me, which made my heart race. "And for the record," she leaned forward as she said those words, then kissed me lightly on the cheek, which promptly made me turn a deep shade of scarlet. "I think you're very cute, too." She then stood up and left, leaving me to think about her words. Stormfast appeared by my side and crooned, his eyes mocking.

"What are you looking at?" I asked him, who decided that my personal life was worth his attention. I turned back toward the door, thinking on her parting words.


	12. Uncharted Skies Chapter 12: The Legend

**Chapter 12: The Legend**

**A/N: Whoa, okay. I have one of the worst cases of writer's block I've ever experienced. That's why it took so long for me to update, sorry.**

**This chapter has a lot of fluff in it, following the path from the last chapter. Also, you'll find out more about the Shifters and their history. This chapter may have some religious views in it, too.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Danna's POV**

I strode into Erik's room, where Jormandr (which I later learned was the Skrill's real name) was resting on a stone slab on the side of the room. I sort of felt like I was intruding, but Jormandr gestured with his wing for me to come sit down near him.

|Listen, Jormandr, I need to talk with you.|

He sighed, and then replied, |What's on your mind? Wait, I think I know. This is about my rider, isn't it?|

|Well, looks like you're not as ignorant as I thought,| I joked, trying to hide my nervousness. Man, why was this so hard all of a sudden?

|Well, has he said anything about me? I sometimes hear you him talk to you.|

The dragon nodded, saying, |Yeah, he sometimes talks to me late at night. He tells me a lot about you, actually. He tells me what he likes about you, mostly. He adds to the list every day, too.|

|Really? What does he say?| I inquired.

|Well, he has a list he repeats to me, saying how he likes everything about you: your personality, your outgoingness, your fearlessness, but it's your eyes that he comments about the most.| My mind travels back to yesterday where he seemed to get lost in my eyes for a second, before Mom interrupted.

The Skrill nodded, then continued, |He must really like you and want you as a mate.| I recoiled at the last word.

Jormandr must've sensed my discomfort, so he added, |Forgive me, but I don't really know how human courtship works. He really cares about you, though. He can't go two nights without telling me how awful he feels about trying to capture you.| I thought about his words, when I stood up and thanked him for the information, then I walked out and back to my room, a plan forming in my mind.

* * *

It was late. Hiccup and Mom were already fast asleep. I decided to execute my plan now. _Here goes nothing,_ I thought as I entered Erik's room, him on his bed, also asleep. Jormandr woke up, and growled to Erik, who turned over to see who it was.

I suddenly felt awkward standing there, but I said anyway, "Hey, come here. I want to show you something." He agreed groggily, and then I left to let him have some space before I conduct my plan. I changed into my Night Fury form, and waited for him to come.

When he did, I gestured for him to get on my back.

"I want to show you something. Hold on tight." I said as I shot up into the air, heading to one of my favorite places to think: Sunrise Valley.

When we got there, I set down to where the old oak tree was growing on a cliff. I changed form, and then sat with him under the old tree.

"So, why did you bring me here, other than deprive me of much-needed sleep?" He remarked jokingly, and I chuckled a bit.

"I actually want to tell you something, about the Shifters. I want to tell you where they come from." He nodded slowly, interested.

"Well, to tell you about the Shifters, I need to start at the beginning, the very beginning." I began, and then I dove into the tale of the Shifters.

"Well, in the beginning, there was nothing, except for a huge golden dragon. He was ever-existing, and he knew all; and his name was Draco. He formed this world, our world, and made beings in his image, the first dragons. They were content, for a time, but Draco saw that they were growing unhappy; so, Draco made them partners, equals: humans. They were made to be opposite of the dragons, yet they completed each other. While the dragons were made with raw power and strength, the humans were curious, sensitive, and intelligent. They lived together in harmony for a long time, but the two groups grew distasteful of the other, and they grew apart.

"Soon, they feared the other group and what they could do. The dragons feared the humans and their inventions, while the humans were wary of the dragons and their strength. And so, the First War began. It was chaos. There was much bloodshed, and thousands died. Draco was unhappy with all the fighting, and sought to create peace and balance again. So, he made a dragon that could take the form of a human, and a human that could change into a dragon. And so, the first Shifters were born. Both of them met with the leaders of the groups, and they came to a truce.

"For a long time, there was peace again. The Shifters grew in numbers, and soon, they formed their own society. Both sides, though, grew distrustful of the Shifters and their growing power, and they formed an alliance to wipe out the Shifters from existence. That's how the Second War started. The Shifters were spread thinly, but kept their culture alive through checkpoints all throughout the world. They were defeated, but they always recovered. They fought long and hard, but with the defeat of their monarch, they surrendered to the humans and dragons. They decided on a truce, and the Shifters were left in peace if they were separated from the others. So, the last remaining Shifters escaped to the checkpoints where they lived in peace for many generations. Although, there were a group of Vikings who sought to rid the world of all Shifters. The Rogue Tribe is the direct descendant of them. That's why your father wants me gone. Once they get rid of me, then they'll have fulfilled their goal their ancestors had laid before them."

As I finished my tale, Erik looked at me, his eyes wide in shock.

"So that's why you may be the last Shifter alive. Your people were spread so thinly, and it's all because of my Tribe. I'm so sorry." I held a finger to his mouth, telling him to be quiet. I then leaned in, and he did the same. When our faces were just inches apart, I heard something rustle in the tall grass. At first I thought I had imagined it, but it continued so much that Erik heard it, too.

They came out of nowhere. The Rogues that ambushed us quickly grabbed my hands behind my back and held a knife to Erik's throat.

"Careful, she-dragon. One false move and your boyfriend gets it." The soldier said, so I stayed where I was, not even daring to shift into a Night Fury.

Then they parted to reveal the Chief of the Rogues, Thorstein the Ferocious.

He calmly walked up to Erik and said, "Well done, my son. You played your part well. Now it's our turn to deal with her." I stood there in shock at his words. Erik led me on? I turned away from him, not wanting to meet his eyes. He had baited me, and I fell for it. I felt the rage burning inside of me when a net fell on me, carried by slave dragons.

Erik tried to help me, to do anything, but I physically repelled him. I turned toward him and we lock eyes, his full of hurt and confusion.

My last words to him before I was carried to the Unnamed Island were: "How could you?" I cried almost all the way there, scolding myself for falling for his trap, for him. I was so angry with him, I shouted. When the slave dragon landed, I was turned over to the Rogue Commander, who promptly threw me into a dirty cell underneath the island.

"We'll deal with you later, witch." He spat. When I was left on my own in the cell, I cried, worrying how I'll get out of this one alive.


	13. Uncharted Skies Chapter 13: The Raid

**Chapter 13: The Raid**

**A/N: Wow, sorry I haven't posted earlier. I still have a case of writer's block, and I've been watching The Legend of Korra all day. Plus, I had a doctor's appointment to go to, so yeah.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Normal POV**

Astrid awoke to the sound of fighting. She grabbed her trusty axe she always had beside her bed, and ran outside to join in.

As soon as she did, though, she was almost blasted apart by a Gronkle attack. She ducked and rolled to evade, then ran behind when it was occupied by another Viking. She hit in the side with the side of her axe, and then ducked under its jaw as it turned toward her. She acted fast, rolling under to get behind it. As she was about to flip it on its back, Snotlout intervened, and pulled her from under the dragon. The others followed her lead, all striking it in different directions, keeping it confused. Finally, they were able to confuse it enough so it just gave up and flew away.

"Great teamwork, guys. Now, we need to find Gobber and find out what we need to do next." Astrid remarked, and then led the way up the slope to the forge where Gobber was busy fixing weapons, restocking, and even fighting off a dragon or two. He met up with the teens in the back room, and trusted Spitelout to look after the shop.

"Did you find anything on that island yesterday?" He asked. They all shook their heads.

"Nothing we haven't told you already. We can't track him with Sniffer, since who knows how long he could've flown." Astrid explained. Gobber had been busy helping Stoick around the village since there had been an increasing amount of violent outbreaks around the place, and the Chief needed an extra hand.

The Viking sighed. Of course they had no lead. There was no way that they could track Hiccup for however long he had flew from the island to wherever he was now. Even a Deadly Nadder didn't have a nose that good, and it was one of the best trackers in the dragon world. Besides, what would they tell Stoick when they got back, with his son? There had already been some close calls when they went to the island.

Suddenly, a fire blast brought them back to the present. Everyone ran outside to see what it was. They all looked up into the sky in horror and wonder. There were more dragons than anyone thought possible, some no one had ever seen before; and they seemed to be circulating something.

Astrid looked carefully in the middle, and they cried out in shock: it was a jet black dragon, the same one that she had seen in that cove, the one she had ridden on that night. She looked closer, and could see a rider on its back. _Could it be?_ She thought.

Then the dragons dissipated at the raise of the rider's hand, and flew back to wherever they had come from.

"If you know what's good for you, you won't harm those dragons," the figure suddenly spoke, "or this one." He patted his dragon steed's head. The villagers looked on in horror at how this mysterious person could command the dragons so efficiently, but Astrid looked on with hopeful eyes. She recognized that voice. Then the figure stepped down from his Night Fury, and Astrid could get a better look at how he had changed.

He was now wearing a cloak around his shoulders, covered with dark scales, possibly from his dragon. He still had the green tunic he wore when he left albeit with some patches in it to compensate with his growing body, which Astrid couldn't help but notice had gotten more…muscular. She also saw that he had a belt with lots of different pockets, a sheath for a dagger and what looked like a metal sword hilt. He had a dark mask over his head, making him look even more like the dragon he rode. It had two slits for his eyes, asymmetrical metal plates along the back, and a row of spines down the middle.

He walked through the village, all the Viking moving out of the way without a word of protest, and she saw his eyes flicker over to her and the teens. They lingered on her for a moment longer than the rest, and Astrid couldn't help but flush.

He stopped when he had come in front of Stoick, and for a moment, Astrid saw not this new dragon-whisperer, but the small runt he had been when he had left. He took off his helmet, and turned toward the crowd that had gathered around them, and Astrid saw exactly how much he had changed. His emerald eyes no longer held fear, but wisdom and bravery. Astrid could tell just how much he had been through in the months he had been gone. Stoick then turned toward the boy, and clasped a hand on his shoulder, which still made the boy flinch, and the Chief announced:

"My son has returned!"


	14. Chapter 14: The Confrontaion

**Chapter 14: The Confrontation**

**A/N: Well, guys, over 4,000 views. I really did not expect this much response to my writing. Don't be afraid to review and say what I could do to make this story better. Seriously, you'd be surprised at how well I can take criticism, if I do say so myself.**

**Anyway, this chapter has a lot of verbal sparring in it, so sit back and grab your popcorn (if you're anything like me, you enjoy these kind of things)!**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Erik's ****POV**

I watched helplessly as the slave dragons took Danna away to our island. _Along with my heart,_ I thought. Her last words echoed in my mind, and I nearly had to fight back tears. I regained my composure, as my father and I walked to his leading ship.

When we were safely on Unnamed Island, I immediately wanted to go see Danna, to make sure she was safe.

My father stopped me though, saying, "Don't worry, son. You'll see your precious Shifter soon enough." He had one of those sly smiles that I had seen all too often. I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you planning?" I asked slowly.

He replied, "Oh, I'm thinking the whole village around the Fighting Ring, maybe some decorations because, why not? Am I forgetting something? Oh, yes; you and that Shifter in the Ring, fighting to the death."

My eyes widened in shock as I said, "You wouldn't dare." He smirked, like he knew something I didn't, which he usually did.

"Oh, you underestimate me, son. I know you love her, and what better way to earn your place back here than to kill the one you love?" My temper flared at those words.

I shouted at him, "You're wrong! I would never hurt her!" I lunged at him, which he sidestepped.

"I guess I underestimated you, Erik. You're more naïve than I thought. I had thought you wanted to earn your place back in the Rogues' forces; or had those weaklings finally gotten to you?"

"That's where you're wrong, again. My love for Danna makes me stronger, stronger than all our best men in the army." I clenched my fists, and then continued, "I don't need the Rider's attention like you. They like me just as I am. No matter where I came from or who I am. They are the ones who were a real family to me, not you. For so long I had struggled to gain your acceptance, for you to love me, like a real father should. In your eyes, I had to be the perfect son. I had to excel at dragon trapping, and I was the best soldier in our army, but you never loved me. That's all I wanted from you, but you never gave it to me."

"You ignorant boy; I gave you wealth and honor and power. This is how you repay me: with foolish speeches about family and love. The only strength in this world is power, that's what I taught you, but you defy me and instead join the Dragon Rider and that _Shifter,_ completely abandoning me in the process. I could have given you the attention you craved, if you had only asked." He countered.

I had to admit, his arguing skills were impressive, but I hadn't gotten what I knew from a Terrible Terror.

"That's just the thing. You say as if I hadn't asked for your love before. How many times have I trapped one more dragon for you, or fought one more person for you? I had bowed before you on your pathetic throne in hopes that you would just once say 'I'm proud of you, son.' Would it have been that hard to say that every once in a while?" Then, I finished with the statement that I had wanted to say since I had left the island: "I wish you were never my father."

I turned to leave, when my father had one more statement: "Fine, you get your wish. From now on, you are not my son."

I was slightly stung by his parting words, but I didn't let it show. I headed down to the underground tunnels where I knew they were keeping Danna. I didn't know what I was going to say, but I just had to see her again.

I found her in her cell, her back to me. I took a deep breath, but before I started, she interrupted me.

"Don't you have some important _celebration_ to go to with your father?" She asked. I lowered myself to her level, and then just started talking.

"Danna, I'm so sorry about this. I wish it was me in that cell instead of you. I never led you on, no matter what my father said about me. I would never hurt you. Not now, not ever. I…" I trailed off, half wanting and half not-wanting to finish.

"What?" She turned toward me, the anger in her eyes gone.

"…I love you, Danna." She moved near me- without a word- and I consoled her through the bars that separated us.

As I held her, she began crying. She leveled her face with mine, and said, "I love you, too," then she gently placed her lips on mine.

Okay, this isn't exactly what I had dreamed in my head, but I loved every second of it nevertheless.

"What exactly do you two think you're doing?" The voice broke our spell and brought us into reality, and we broke away, faces turning red. I looked up in shock, but relaxed when I saw that it was my old ally Slitthroat. He got his name after his scar across the neck by someone from his past. He was a shady character, but he saved my hide more times than I liked to admit.

Danna, on the other hand, automatically turned offensive, shifting to a Night Fury form, growling.

Slitthroat raised his hand, and said, "Please, I'm not here to hurt you. My name is Slitthroat, and I'm an old friend to your boyfriend her. Also, I think it would be quite the spectacle for you to attack me now." He had the personality of a con man, and Danna slowly dropped her guard and changed back to her human form and sat down near me.

"So, do any of you two actually have a plan of sorts?" He asked us. We both shook our heads.

Slitthroat sighed, and then replied, "Okay, so we're going to have to make one. I propose that we escape during the fight between you two, preferably, you two put on a show, but then turn and attack the Ring and escape." I nodded slowly, additions coming to mind. I told them what I had thought of, and they agreed with that plan.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do…"


	15. Uncharted Skies Chapter 15: The Riot

**Chapter 15: The Riot**

**A/N: So, how's it going? It's going great for me; over 4,500 views for this story.**

**I'm sort of sad since this story is more than two-thirds finished, then I'm going on a break from writing to develop the plotline for the sequel. Yeah, that's right, there's going to be a sequel. Are you all as excited as I am? Probably not.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Danna's POV**

It was dark, but I couldn't sleep. I ran over the plan one more time in my head. Man, just thinking about it makes my heart race. I figured that the guard- Slitthroat- had already done his part. Now, I just had to hold out until tomorrow, when Erik and I were supposed to fight in the Ring. I shuddered at the thought of him trying to kill me to please his father once more, like he had done all those years ago…no, he had changed, hadn't he? I couldn't help but thinking this was all a trap. _He sounded so sincere when he came here though,_ I thought. _No, he wouldn't do that, not now. Not after what we had been through._ On that happy note, I finally fell asleep.

I was awoken by the guards that had carried me in here. I was chained in my Night Fury form and shoved in a metal box, heading for the Ring.

Erik was already there, waiting. He was dressed in the armor I had seen on him when he was hunting me down. I lunged at him, teeth bared in a false snarl. He was taken aback for a second, but then he realized what I was doing, and joined the charade.

It was like some kind of exotic dance. Erik and I weaved to and fro, him jabbing and blocking with his silver sword in his hand, and me clawing and twisting in my Night Fury form. Some of the smarter Rogues soon figured out what we were doing, but most were intrigued at the sight of us.

Erik appeared by my side, pretending to strike.

"Time for the grand finale," he instructed. I got the message, and then I nodded to Slitthroat who I had seen earlier in the front row. He nodded back, and then let out a shrill whistle that nearly made my ears bleed. Erik seemed unfazed by the noise, but that's just it. It's a special whistle that only dragons can hear. I guess that scar didn't just give him a nasty reputation.

Suddenly, the sky was filled with dozens of slave dragons, each set on revenge on their former masters. Erik jumped on my back, and I took off during the chaos. I blasted through the thin metal net they set as a deterrent for the dragons that tried to escape, and we took off.

We flew in silence until Erik broke the ice, saying, "That was some pretty good dancing there, Danna." I chuckled. Even after what just happened, his sense of humor doesn't quit.

"You weren't too bad yourself, Erik. Although your footwork could use some practice." I joked back, which made him laugh, a sound that I thought I wouldn't ever hear again.

As we neared the Nest, I began to get nervous. I didn't exactly tell Mom that Erik and I had sneaked out, and I wasn't really sure what happened when we were caught by the Rogues.

Thankfully, I didn't have to explain much. Erik took the blame and told her that it'd been his idea to sneak out, and the Rogues ambushed us while we had fallen asleep.

To my surprise, my mom stopped our explanation. Now that I looked closer, I could see that she had bags under her eyes, like she'd been up all night. Nazhiir also looked very worried, and was pacing the floor.

"Mom, what happened? Did Rogues attack in the night?" She shook her head, unable to speak. She handed me a piece of parchment. I recognized the writing as Hiccup's as I read:

_Dear Mom, Danna, Erik and Sonya,_

_I'm so sorry you have to find out this way, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you any other way; I'm heading back to Berk. I have to try to put a stop to all of this. I'm sorry you're worried at my disappearance, but I have to do this. There's no way you can stop me. I took some dragons with me, so they won't attack us immediately. Also, I have Toothless to protect me._

_ I'm going to try to kill the dragon's queen there. A few days before I left Berk, I found out where she is, and I'm going to lead the other dragons against her. Don't worry; I'll be back here within a week, probably._

_Sincerely, _

_Hiccup _

_P.S. Erik, Stromfast's new saddle is in the forge, I hope you like it._

I stared at the letter in my hand, unable to believe it. Erik read it over my shoulder, eyes wide in shock. I read it over. And over. And over. I then knew what we had to do.

I gathered up everyone, including dragons, in the oasis. I was dressed in my leather dragon outfit, which matched my dragon form. I had my hair back into a messy braid. Erik still had his Rogue armor on, although he marked out the Rogue symbol and painted our Dragon Rider symbol on it: a red ice blast. Mom had her dragon outfit on, too. Sonya had leather shoulder pads with spikes connecting to her side, making her look like her dragon, too. She had her long, dark hair in two low ponytails.

We rode off on our dragons, which had also been fitted with armor, mostly around their legs, wings, and back. Jormandr also had his new saddle on, and he looked pretty proud to wear it. I had my staff like my mother, but it could also swing out a blade from its end. Erik had his sword, and my mom had her trademark staff. Sonya had her bow- which she was surprisingly good at- and a quiver of arrows on her back.

As we rode toward the place I had first met Hiccup, I couldn't help but thinking about what Mom would do, having to return to her home after over 14 years. I couldn't tell what her expression was, but I could imagine she was worried, about both her son and the others, and herself.

We landed where I had first seen Hiccup and Noctus, which brought back a lot of memories.

"So, do you remember which way they came from?" Mom asked me. I tried my hardest, and finally pointed to the southeast, by the look of it.

"That's where they flew from. From the look of the speed that they were flying at, they didn't turn for a long while." The other Riders looked pleased about this information, but then I saw that the sky was a lot darker than when we left.

"Maybe we should camp here for the night, who knows what the Viking might do if they saw four Dragon Riders flying into their island in the middle of the night." Erik sensed my mood, and covered for me. I was then very glad he joined us. He then started making a lean-to near a fallen tree that the storm had knocked over, and soon the rest of us followed suite.

As I tried to fall asleep, my mind wandered to what Hiccup had said in his letter to us_. I wonder how and what he's doing right now,_ I thought as my mind finally welcomed sleep.


	16. Chapter 16: The revelation

**Chapter 16: The Revelation**

**A/N: Wow, guys, I was just stumped for this chapter. Please tell me if I did a good job on this one. I like to hear from you guys, you know.**

**Anyway, here's the last chapter before the big climax. This is where the two storylines finally meet (you know, Hiccup and the Riders and Astrid and the teens). Also, what'd you think of Erik and Danna's relationship? I plan on going into more detail (and funny moments) in the sequel.**

**Speaking of, do you guys have any good names for the sequel? Maybe something like "Something New"? I don't know. It actually took me a while to figure out what this story's name was, so please, any suggestions welcome!**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Hiccup's POV**

I certainly never expected this for my return. My dad had a big feast thrown for my arrival back on Berk. He had also, grudgingly, let Toothless stay with me on the condition that he didn't harm anyone in the Hall. Even on those words, most Vikings kept a safe distance from me, except for a certain blonde teen with metal shoulder pads. She sat right next to me, which made me internally freak out as she sat down. As much as I was used to a giant, fire-breathing, flying reptile that could kill you with just a snap of its teeth, girls still freaked me out.

"Hey, Hiccup," Astrid said awkwardly, but I could only nod. We sat in awkward silence for a while, until she broke it first, asking, "So, where were you all this time?"

I sighed. I opened my mouth to answer, but Stoick interrupted us and ushered us to the stage in the Hall. One more thing about me, I never like public speaking. My father had tried to cure me of this, but every time I was in front of a crowd, even a small one, my mind went completely blank.

Fortunately, my dad did all the talking, until I was forced to answer questions. I gulped, and then was turned over to the demanding mess of Vikings. The questions were thrown at me like fish to a dragon: "Where were you?" "Why didn't you come back sooner?" "Is it true you were abducted by that dragon?" "What did you do when you were away?" I did my best to answer most of them, but was forced to lie on a few of them to protect my friends and family.

My answers were stopped when there was a crash and then a growl outside the Great Hall. To my horror I recognized that growl, and I rushed to the front of the crowd that was already grabbing weapons from the Hall.

My suspicions were correct. I looked on in horror as the other Riders were in the circle in front of the Great Hall. I shook my head, eyes wide, at Danna, who was in her Night Fury form, urging her not to shift back. I looked down to the village to see Erik and Stormfast on top of one of the houses. Valka had her dragon outfit on, hiding her face with her helmet. Stoick then burst through the crowd, demanding to know what was going on.

"Dad, don't worry. They're my friends," I explained, trying to calm him down.

"Then what's that beast doing here?" He countered, pointing toward Danna.

"She, uh, she's…Toothless's mate." I lied. I could see both Toothless and Danna flinch at the statement, but Danna decided to just roll with it, and went up to Toothless and gave him a lick on the face, which he reluctantly gave back.

Stoick calmed down then, but he was still cross at them. He ordered the other dragons to be taken to the Training Arena, except for Danna, who was going to come with us, although muzzled. The other Riders voiced their protests, but Stoick told them that as long as they were on his island, they were to obey his orders. I could tell this affected them, being so used to the freedom of the Nest.

When everyone was back at the Great Hall, my dad brought me and them up to the stage to ask the Riders questions. Since I was their friend, I also had to answer some for them. First of all, he ordered Valka to take off her helmet, which she refused to do at first_. Oh boy, here we go;_ I thought as the helmet slid off her head and dropped to the ground. My dad just looked at her, like she was a ghost, which he thought she was. Valka sighed, and then explained how she was able to survive. Stoick had a sudden change of heart, and announced that if anyone laid a hand on them or their dragons, then they would have to face him personally.

As he led us down to the Arena, Danna pulled me over, warning, "How long until I show myself? If you don't answer me soon, I'll set a time myself."

"Just hold on for a few hours, I'll figure something out," I promised, then ran up to catch up to the group when Astrid pulled me over.

"Is it just me, or did I just hear you talk to that dragon?" She put her hands on her hips, demanding an answer.

"Uh, yeah; I just do that sometimes. It helps me clear my head." I started to lose count of the lies I was telling tonight. Astrid shook her head.

"No, I saw you _talking_ to it, as in, have a conversation with it, and it answered _back_. What other secrets have you picked up since the time you left?" She really made it impossible for me to sneak past her. I sighed, and then quickly explained who Danna was and what she could do. As I finished, Astrid stared at me with her big blue eyes.

Suddenly Danna appeared behind her, and said, "So, you've figured it out. Good for you." Astrid jerked around, and then froze when Danna shifted back to her human form. I was surprised at how much her wardrobe had changed, but Astrid looked on in horror.

"Who…what are you?" Danna told her as if she hadn't just been a Night Fury just a second ago.

"Hiccup, where are you?" My dad's voice boomed through the path to the Arena, when he walked up to us.

"Well, who's this? Another one of your friends, son?" Well, no use hiding it now.

I took a deep breath, and continued, "Dad, well, you're probably not going to believe this, but…" I then continued to explain one more time who Danna was and what she did.

To my surprise, Stoick didn't look fazed by her.

Danna raised her hand in a small wave, and awkwardly said, "Hey, dad." Stoick didn't respond at first, but then pulled her into a bone-crushing bear hug.

Gobber, the other teens, and the Riders all then came up the path from the Arena. The Riders all looked on in silence, smiles on their faces, but Gobber and the teens were all staring at the embrace, mouths agape.

Stoick then turned to them saying, "Today is a day to celebrate! Not only had my son returned, but I had also seen my daughter for the first time!"

As we were back in the Great Hall, Danna and I decided that it was the right time to tell the rest of them. She shifted, which earned her a few stares from the others following us, but she brushed them off.

She stepped onto the stage in the back, and shot a few blasts to get the Vikings attention. She then changed form, which would've been enough for them to stare at her, as she explained that she meant no harm to them and explained what she was. When she was through, everyone seemed to accept her into their celebration. It really doesn't take much for Vikings, even though we are stubborn as a yak, to change their opinions of someone.

As the party went on, I walked outside to catch some air. To my surprise, Astrid walked up and sat beside me.

I'm pretty sure she could hear my heart beating, but she said anyway, "I see you've made some pretty cool friends. Your sister's really cool, too."

I could barely squeak out an "Uh, huh," before Astrid suddenly punched me in the arm.

"Oww, what was that for?" I asked her before she said, "That's for leaving me." Then she leaned over and pulled me into a short kiss.

I didn't have a single thought in my head, and yet I had thousands.

When we broke apart, she said, "That's for everything else," mirroring what she said after we had rode on Toothless. She then sat up and turned to go back into the party. I could just look at her as I was still reeling from what had happened.


	17. Uncharted Skies Chapter 17: The Picnic

**Chapter 17: The Picnic**

**A/N: Wow, guys; over 5,000 views. Thank you guys for supporting this story so much, it really means a lot to me.**

**I'm pretty much just bluffing before we get to the "big finale" now with this chapter, but, hey, it has a lot of fluff in it, so there's that.**

**I'm sorry to say, but after this story is finished, I'm going on a hiatus from writing for a while. I know, it hurts me too, but I'll be back for the sequel, "Undiscovered Lands."**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Erik's POV**

"Hey, Danna, could I have a word with you?" I walked up to her just coming out of her house, and she nodded.

I could feel my heart beat out of control, but I continued anyway, "Well, I was wondering if, uh, you would like to go on a…a date…with me?"

She looked at me in surprise for a moment, but then she answered, "I'd love to, Erik. How about a picnic? I know just the place." My joy must have been written all over my face at her statement, because she smiled at my expression.

I replied, "Great. I'll bring some fish. I know how you like them raw." She then got up and walked away, leaving me to my preparations.

As I gathered a basket full of fish and other foods for our picnic, I couldn't help but think back to that day on the Unnamed Island, in the dungeon. I remember it so well. I started wondering if what she said was true, but I shook my head to clear it. Of course she meant what she said, why would she have kissed me if she didn't? Nevertheless, the question still lingered in my mind as I made my way back up to the Haddock's house and met Danna, already there.

She shifted form, and gestured for me to hop on. I obeyed, and soon we were flying over the forest that surrounded Raven Point. We landed in a secluded cove surrounded by rock cliffs on all sides, the perfect place for relaxing.

We settled down as I took out the fish for her and a couple of sandwiches for me. We leaned back on a rock outcropping while we ate. I have to tell you, when she was hungry, she sure could eat, but so could I.

"Danna, I've been meaning to ask you," I said as we finished eating. "Did you really mean what you said to me, back on the Unnamed Island, in the prison?" I could feel me face getting hotter as she thought back for a moment. Then suddenly, she grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me into a quick kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" She replied jokingly. I couldn't help but laugh at her sense of humor as I leaned in to kiss her again. I closed my eyes, but instead of her warm lips, I was met by a cold, scaly nose. Then my face met a wet, pink tongue as she licked my face, Night Fury style.

She shifted back and nearly doubled over laughing, and pretty soon I joined in. We laughed for some time and joked about some more things, when Hiccup flew in on Toothless.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.

"No, you weren't. We were just packing up." I was sort of disappointed that our date had been cut short, but I packed up anyway.

As we flew back, I asked Hiccup, "What do you need us for?" He smiled his trademark grin and stated, "Why do you ask? Were you enjoying your time with your_ girlfriend_?" He put a lot of stress on that last word, and I blushed, replying,

"No, I was just curious." I turned away, although Danna seemed unaffected by his statement.

When we returned, Hiccup had his father gather everyone in the Great Hall. I couldn't deny it, that man scared me, and not just because he was Danna's father. He just had this commanding aura about him. When we were all there, Hiccup stood up on the stone ledge to make an announcement.

"Uh, hello everybody. Uh, so as you all know, we are constantly being raided be dragons." I wanted to get up there and help him out, but I knew this was something that he had to tell them himself.

"Well, I have found a way to stop that problem. I know, it's crazy, but just hear me out. Astrid and I actually discovered the nest when she, uh, took a ride on Toothless. But anyway, we discovered that there is a dragon queen that controls the dragons to bring food to her. I know a way that the dragons could be free of her. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need volunteers to ride out with me and the other Riders, on dragons."

Hiccup stood there awkwardly for a moment, before a hand shot up. To everyone's surprise, it was Astrid. The other teens soon followed her, and Hiccup looked pleased with his speech. The Vikings all began to dissipate from the room when Astrid spoke up, saying, "It's true. We saw what's in the dragon nest. It's so huge that our best dragon fighters wouldn't even make a scratch on it. It's a monstrous dragon that will resort to eating other dragons if they don't bring it enough food. A beast that size, Hiccup will need all the help he can get." I couldn't help but admire the way she handled the crowd, contradicting Hiccup's speech and plans.

As we led the way to the Training Arena, I pulled Danna over to the side.

"Danna, I'm not so sure about this plan. I don't know what Hiccup's planning, but I didn't like the sound of it." I expressed my worry over the situation, but Danna silenced me.

"I'm sure my brother knew what he was talking about. If he thinks this is the way to defeat the dragon queen, then I'll follow his lead."

"I know, I just…I don't…" I trailed off. She raised an eyebrow, urging me to finish.

"I don't want anything to happen to you, okay? I love you too much to put you through what Hiccup's planning." I blurted out. For a moment, I didn't care what she thought. I just had to say what I was feeling.

To my surprise, Danna simply smiled at my words, and said, "Now you're thinking like a dragon," and then ran to catch up with the others. I called Stormfast, and then went to meet them there so we can fly off to the queen's lair. I just couldn't quench my fear that we were flying into a death trap as the Dragon Riders and the teens on their dragons flew off into the mist.


	18. Uncharted Skies Chapter 18: The Battle

**Chapter 18: The Battle**

**A/N: Well, here it is; the final battle. I'm actually really proud of myself for coming this far. I usually don't follow through my fanfiction ideas, so this story's really special to me.**

**Well, enough of the sappy stuff, let's get to the action! As Toph once said, "Yeah, let's break some rules!" *earthbends a massive hole in the wall* Okay, I don't want you to do that, but that's the energy I'm talking about!**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Hiccup's POV**

As we flew through the mist, the dragons started to get antsy. They knew what we were going to do, and they didn't like it one bit. I saw Erik and Snotlout struggling to control their dragons, and the twins were having a tough time as well.

I flew beside Danna, asking, "What's going on? Why are they acting like this?"

She answered, "It's the queen. She can make howls and buzzes only dragons can hear, saying to come to her nest." She shook her head, trying to block out the noise, and even Toothless was having trouble staying on the right flight path. At least I know we're heading in the right direction, I thought.

Suddenly, the nest was made clear. It was huge, and it looked even bigger than last time I saw it.

"So, what's the plan?" Almost everyone asked in unison.

"We find where the queen is, and we bring her out into the open. We can't hit her very well if she's submerged in lava," I answered, then Toothless proceeded to blast the mountainside open with a few well-placed fire bolts.

Without warning, the whole mountain began to shake, and I could hear a mighty roar from inside.

"Get clear!" I shouted at the others, who followed my order without question. I directed Toothless up into the sky, and to my shock, Danna soon followed me.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at her.

She answered, "I'm making sure you don't kill yourself this early. Plus, two Night Fury blasts are better than one." As the queen emerged from her volcanic den, I drove Toothless downward, aiming for her head. Danna came up beside me, aiming for her body. We shot the bolts simultaneously, and the queen was momentarily stunned.

I can up beside the other teens, and instructed Snotlout and Erik to fire at it, keeping her confused. The twins would find out if she had a shot limit, and my mom and Fishlegs to break her down so we could know just what we were dealing with.

I told Danna to go with Erik and Snotlout, and she retorted, "I liked that command until you said 'Snotlout.'" But she went off anyway.

"Alright, bud. It's go time." I said to my dragon, who shot into the air once more. I could see the twins were having a bit of trouble keeping it firing at them. I looked around her massive body and saw Erik and Danna, working like a well-oiled machine, while Snotlout was trying to keep up.

Then, I had the opening I needed. I saw Tuffnut and Ruffnut narrowly dodge one of the queen's fire blasts, before flying out of her range. Snotlout was clearly having trouble with his dragon, and barely missed becoming her next snack. Danna and Erik went to go help him, leaving me open for an aerial attack.

Toothless immediately dove downward, as Danna called everyone to get out of the way. I heard Toothless's sonic scream, and fired at the queen, causing her to fall to the ground. Then I saw something I hadn't noticed before: she has wings.

I looked back to see her right on our tail. Toothless and I dodged and weaved our way through the rocks surrounding the island. I glanced in shock again as Danna was also right behind us. I looked up at the sky, which was now filled with dark clouds, the perfect cover for us. I pointed up to Danna, who got the message, and then we shot skyward.

We quickly lost the queen in the dark, the smoke from her many fire breaths still hanging in the air. I met up with Danna, who I then told her my plan. She nodded in understanding, then dove down and shot a bolt at her wing, making the queen roar in frustration.

I followed her example, and each of us took turns blasting at her wings, impeding the queen's flight. The queen was furious, and blasted the sky with every ounce of fire she could make.

"Hiccup, watch out!" Danna's warning came a second too late as the fire caught on Toothless's tail fin. I nodded toward Danna, who then blasted one more bolt at the queen, toward her head.

"Come on, that's the best you got?" I taunted the dragon, and Toothless roared in agreement.

She had it easy now. The queen followed me through the clouds, using the burning tail fin as a guide. I shot downwards, Danna right behind me, and the queen in close quarters.

"Stay with me bud, just a little longer." I said as I failed to move the tail fin. The queen was gaining on us.

"Hiccup, whatever you're planning, you need to do it now!" Danna warned me.

"On three," I commanded. The queen was spewing the gases just before they ignited.

"One two three!" Toothless shot around, Danna mirroring him, and together we shot a giant blast into the mouth of the gigantic dragon, igniting the gas before she could.

We turned back around as the queen tried to stop herself, but the holes Danna and I made earlier served their purpose. We both flew out of the way as the giant dragon crashed into the mountain, and she exploded due to the amount of ignited gases inside her.

We both raced through the spines on her back, but Danna wasn't paying enough attention.

"Danna, watch out!" This time, my warning came too late. Danna tried to duck out of the way of the giant spine, but was a second too slow and she clipped her wing.

As the dragon's tail came closer to us, I tried to operate Toothless's tail fin, but the leather fin was completely burnt off. I was knocked from his saddle and began to fall down into the blaze. The last thing I remember is Toothless diving after me and wrapping me up in his wings to save me.


	19. Chapter 19: The Awakening

**Chapter 19: The Awakening**

**A/N: I have to say, it's been a really fun journey, writing this story. It seems like yesterday that I was just writing about how Hiccup had left Berk, or when he met Danna. It's been a wonderful journey, all of it. Sure there were some spots where I was stuck with writer's block, but I got through that and now look where we are.**

**All of you are what have gotten me through this story. Thank you all.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Danna's POV**

I woke up in my own bed, no memory of how I got there. I went to sit up, but recoiled when it shot shards of pain through my shoulder, which I saw was bandaged. I looked at my arms, which were, surprisingly, human. I was confused for a moment, but then I remember what Nazhiir told me: when Shifters are severely injured and/or unconscious, then they automatically shift back to their original form, for me it was human.

I gathered up the strength to carefully step toward the door, and opened it to reveal Erik standing there, waiting. I was immediately lifted up into a tight hug from him, but then my shoulder was sending shots of pain, and I cried out. He let me go immediately, but then grabbed me into a gentler hug, which I gladly returned.

"I thought I lost you," Erik said.

"You can't get rid of me that easily." I responded. We broke apart, and then both of us leaned into a kiss, but before we met, Jormandr pushed both of us down, showering Erik with dragon kisses.

He coughed and sputtered before realizing where he was, and stood up quickly, his cheeks turning red. He offered me his hand, which I took. Then all the Vikings announced Hiccup's return as he came out of our house. We all crowded around him, which I could see was unusual for him.

Astrid appeared to his side and punched him in the arm, saying, "That's for scaring me."

"What, is it always going to be this way with you?" Hiccup protested, but then was silenced by a kiss on the lips, which he replied, "I could get used to it."

I cast a knowing glance toward Erik, who was by my side, which I could see made him embarrassed. I laughed at his expression, and soon he joined in. Hiccup was given his new tail for Noctus, which was made by Gobber, before turning to me.

"Thanks, sis; I couldn't have done it without you." I nodded in agreement, before Hiccup walked toward Noctus, strapped his new saddle on, and took off with the other teens. I tried to follow them, but Erik grabbed my arm, saying,

"You can't fly right now. Your wing's broken, from the look of it."

My attention was then directed to my Night Fury form, which I shifted into, and I noticed that my left wing was bent at an odd angle. I sighed, but I followed him into the infirmary where the healer was hard at work. Erik led me to her, and she agreed to fix up my wing, on the condition that I remain as a Night Fury until it heals, which I reluctantly agreed to.

Once my wing was properly bandaged, Erik and I took a walk through the forest where we had flown over to the cove. It was so peaceful, a place where I can think. We walked for a while, just enjoying each other's company, when I turned toward Erik and asked, "Erik, do you really love me?" He faced me, confusion on his face.

"Why would you think any differently? I've loved you longer than you think, actually." He replied, sheepishly. He could see the doubt on my face, and he put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.

"Listen, Danna. You could be stuck as a Night Fury forever and I would still love you, because you would be my Danna." He rested his head on mine, and I gave him a lick on the face, the closest thing we could get to a kiss in these circumstances.

"Hey, you know, the healer didn't say anything about running." Erik broke our silence. I gave him a sly look, and then he hopped onto my back. I ran through the forest to who knows where, only to feel the wind in my face as the trees whipped past us. As we burst through the brush to the village, I couldn't help but laugh at all of the faces that the Vikings gave us. I turned quickly to the house, then back into the woods. I ran for so long, I lost track of time. Only when I came to a steep valley that I couldn't jump did I stop. Erik wasn't ready for my abrupt stop, and went flying.

"Nice form, although it works better if you have wings." I laughed.

He stood up, and jokingly pushed me back, saying, "Next time warn me before you do something like that." I couldn't stop laughing, and knocked him back a few feet. When he was off balance, I pounced on him, making us roll down the hill. When we finally stopped, we lay there for a while, laughing and looking at the clouds that flew by.

"Next time, you might not want to challenge a Night Fury," I joked, making him laugh even more. As I lay there, next to him, I felt safe, as I had felt when I had hugged him after he had saved me from the Rogues. And, for a moment, as we lay there, everything was perfect.


	20. Epilogue: The Celebration

**Epilogue: The Celebration**

**A/N: Well, guys, this is it; the last chapter. I'm so sorry to tell you guys, but I'm taking a break from writing. I just need a little time to figure out the plot for this story's sequel, "Undiscovered Lands." Don't worry, I won't be gone forever.**

**Thank you guys so much for supporting this story, it means so much to me. This is the first story I've posted on Fanfiction, so thank you for viewing this one. Over 5,800 views, I can't express in words how happy that makes me.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Normal POV**

Stoick had called for a big feast and party that night, celebrating the success of Hiccup and the Dragon Riders, new and old, at ending the war between Vikings and dragons. Danna's wing had already healed, to the amazement of the healer.

"I heal fast, I always have." She simply explained, then shifted back as she and Erik walked back toward the Great Hall just in time for the celebration. There was a long table in the Hall, with Stoick and Hiccup at the end. The other Riders were sitting on either side of them with their dragons. Danna took her place on the right side of Hiccup, and Erik sat on the other side, a few chairs down.

"Attention, everyone," the Chief raised his hands to get the Vikings attention. "I'd like to dedicate this feast to my son, who, after all he went through as a Viking, saved us all in the end. Thank you, all of you," he gestured to the Riders, "for all you've done for us." They all clapped at his speech, a few cheered.

The feast was amazing. There was always a few jokes passed around the table, and the Riders each told their story about how they came to meet Hiccup, some of them very exaggerated.

Hiccup then stood up, wanting to give a few words, and started, "Wow, uh, well, when I first left Berk, I never thought it would come to this. I mean, I never thought I would return, either. But, I have to admit, I'm glad that I ran away. It taught me so much, being a part of a group like the Dragon Riders. It made me realize who I was, that I belonged here. I am, and will always be grateful, to my friends," he pointed out all of the Riders one by one, "Danna, Sonya, Erik, and Mom." He then turned and pointed out the other teens, saying, "And, of course, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut. Thank you all for everything you've done. I never could've ended the war without all of you."

His speech was met by a volley of claps, whistles, and cheers from around the great table. As he sat back down, lots of Vikings ran over to him to congratulate or to ask him questions. Finally, when Hiccup began to feel overwhelmed, Stoick intervened, saying that Hiccup would have some peace while the feast continued. Hiccup then cast a glance at the Riders, who nodded back, and excused themselves as they went out of the Great Hall.

Stoick then called the whole village to the center of town, as the Dragon Riders suddenly burst upward in a V-formation, followed by Astrid and the teens identical to their formation. Toothless shot multiple blasts of purple rings which the Riders flew through, to the amazement of the crowd. The groups broke apart, some flying upward and some diving down toward the crowd. The dragons all came together to form a Night Fury symbol, then Toothless swooped down and shot a bolt right above the crowd, making them cheer, then turned upward and circled the Great Hall until coming to the top, which they landed and Toothless shot one more blast above their heads, ending the performance.

Everyone cheered at the sight as all the Riders landed in the center. Almost immediately, they were swarmed with Vikings, asking them questions. As the party continued in the village, a pair of Riders sneaked away, one of them shifting from a Night Fury to a girl as they did so.

Danna and Erik came to a clear patch of grass as they continued to watch the party in the village. They sat down, and just looked on at the dancing Vikings, enjoying their company. Danna then planted a quick kiss on Erik's cheek, making him turn a shade of red, before saying, "I love you, Danna Haddock." She leaned in, replying, "I love you too," before bringing him into a tight hug that seemed to last forever to the two. They finally broke apart and headed back to join the festivities.

As they came back, the Viking musicians started playing a slower song, urging the others to grab their partners.

Danna laughed, asking, "Did you bribe them to do this?"

He smiled, saying, "I may have," then pulled her close to him, letting the music express their feelings. They danced as one, slowly making their way to the center of the group.

"Erik, everyone's looking at us," Danna glanced around, where some of the Vikings stopped dancing to watch the duo.

"Don't worry about them, Danna. Just dance," he replied. They danced until the music had to end, and by then there was a circle around them, everyone watching. The song ended, and the two in the middle straightened up, brought back to reality. Then, Erik put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her into a deep kiss, which she sank into for a long time. When they stopped, they were met by cheers and claps from the Vikings watching them. The couple turned to the sky to watch the fire blasts from the dragons, signaling the end of the celebration. Most of the people groaned, but started heading to their homes.

Hiccup met Danna as they were walking back to their house, running to catch up to the Shifter.

"Hey, that was some really good dancing back there," he said as they walked.

"Really?" She asked, embarrassed.

"Yeah, I mean, you and Erik were mesmerizing. The way you looked at him, it was hard for me to remember that you two were once enemies."

"Well, thank you, Hiccup," she replied. "For everything, really; I mean, before I found you on that island, I was just a dragon girl with a pocketful of herbs and special powers. Now, I can't even imagine my life without you, Erik, dad, or any of us, really."

"Your welcome; for everything, sis. I can't imagine my life without any of you, either. You and Mom taught me so much; I don't think I would've ever returned to Berk without you." He said as they came up to their house.

"So, what happens now?" Hiccup asked. "I mean, everything's so different. Dragons and Vikings living in peace, it's gonna take a while to get used to."

"I don't exactly know what will happen, Hiccup, but whatever comes, we'll be ready. With the two of us together, we'll be unstoppable! We'll travel the world, helping dragons and Vikings alike, teaching them that they don't have to live in fear. We'll make the world a better, peaceful place, and we'll do it together." As Danna finished her grand speech, she noticed that Hiccup still looked doubtful.

"Come on, Hiccup. What could possibly go wrong?" She ruffled her brother's hair. Hiccup laughed and fixed her mess, then the two stepped inside the doorway.


End file.
